“Realtime availability is a huge step forward.”

Snagging a campsite at the popular Gerstle Cove in Salt Point State Park on the Sonoma coast can seem impossible. Reservations for the 28 campsites there, set on a wooded terrace near an ocean bluff, often book up every day of summer when they become available on ReserveCalifornia.com six months in advance.

But a new partnership could make it easier to navigate the booking process.

Starting this week, the California State Parks are sharing their reservation data with San Francisco online campsite booking service Hipcamp, allowing prospective campers to see reservation cancellations in real time. Using the new tool means that, for example, you could have landed a site at the elusive Gerstle Cove this week for a stay next weekend. A late cancellation opened reservations for Friday and Saturday nights.

It’s the first partnership of its kind for the state parks. Hipcamp is a private campsite booking service featuring thousands of spots at privately owned farms, ranches and vineyards around the country.

The new service launched this week at Hipcamp.com. A list of the parks in the program includes highdemand campgrounds at Angel Island, Mount Diablo and Mount Tamalpais. Some national parks are covered as well, including Yosemite, SequoiaKings Canyon and

Joshua Tree.

“I grew up camping with my family, and I loved it so much that when we came home, I’d sleep in my sleeping bag with all the windows open,” said Hipcamp founder Alyssa Ravasio of Corte Madera. “The difference now is that many of the state parks are booked six months in advance.”

Reservations for state park campsites are available by the date six months ahead. The most popular spots go quickly, such as the Steep Ravine Environmental Cabins on the Marin County coast, which can get booked full less than 15 minutes after becoming available.

To solve the issue, Hipcamp now shows campground status with site availability by colorcoded icons on interactive maps. You can see, for instance, how many sites are available, for any day in the next six months, at any park.

“Realtime availability is a huge step forward,” Ravasio said.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought an “explosive popularity of camping,” according to a new report from Kampgrounds of America, which has seen a 112% uptick in online reservations from 2020 already this year.

With the increase in COVID vaccinations, KOA President Toby O’Rourke said she